15 mountaineers drpped near AN-32 crash site

Itanagar, June 12 (IANS) The Indian Air Force, Army and the civil administration of Arunachal Pradesh started a massive operation on Wednesday to reach the site where the AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force had crashed on June 3, a defence official said.

A total of 15 mountaineers from IAF, Army and civilians were inducted successfully by Mi 17 with all the equipments on Wednesday morning near the crash site, from where they are likely to track to the crash site.

“They have been indicted successfully but failed to proceed towards the crash site due to bad weather. They are going to camp overnight and will try to close in on the crash site tomorrow morning,” said defence PRO Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh on Wednesday.

The 15 mountaineers includes nine from the Indian Air Force, four from Indian Army and two civilian mountaineers, Singh said.

The site where the wreckage of the AN-32 has been spotted is located 16 km north of Lipo and about 12 to 15 km west of Gatte under Payum region of Shi Yomi district.

The wreckage was spotted on Tuesday afternoon when the joint teams of IAF, Army and the civil administration carried out aerial survey in the area.

“It is likely to take some time for the ground parties to reach the crash site. The area has thick vegetation and the tough terrain often prevents the ground search party from advancing,” said a senior official of Shi Yomi district.

Although the IAF has spotted the wreckage, nothing is yet clear about the fate of the 13 on board the aircraft. The plane took off on June 3 from the Jorhat airbase for Mechuka advanced landing ground in Arunachal Pradesh.